TWO FOR THE COLLEGE — On Tuesday, Dec. 3, retired Judge Kevin G. Callahan, J.D., JSC (second from right) and 2013 Hudson County Community College alumnus Ramsey Olivencia (second from left) were sworn into their respective positions as Trustee and Alumni Representative to the HCCC Board of Trustees. They are pictured with William J. Netchert, Esq. (left), chair of the Board of Trustees, and Dr. Glen Gabert, HCCC President.

The offices of the Hudson Reporter will be open on Monday, Dec. 30. They will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 in observance of New Year's Day. The office will reopen Thursday, Jan. 2.

Thus, the advertising and editorial deadlines for the Hudson Reporter newspapers will change. The deadline for classified and display advertising for the Sunday, Jan. 5 editions is Monday, Dec. 30 at noon.

Instead of the regular North Bergen Reporter, Secaucus Reporter, Weehawken Reporter, Union City Reporter, West New York Reporter, Hoboken Reporter, and Jersey City Reporter for Jan. 5, the Hudson Reporter will be publishing its annual countywide “Year in Review” that Sunday. That special edition will not contain letters to the editor. Letters resume the following week.

Look for us at hudsonreporter.com. Got questions? Email editorial@hudsonreporter.com and put your town in the subject head.

Federal money comes to two JC public housing developments

New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Commissioner Richard E. Constable, III joined New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA) Executive Director Anthony L. Marchetta in announcing the commitment of approximately $7.2 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Disaster Recovery funding to two public housing authority developments in Jersey City. The funding will provide the construction and permanent financing needed for the rehabilitation of 319 affordable rental housing units for families and 48 affordable rental housing units for seniors.

“These funds will enable the restoration of public housing developments that sustained considerable damage as a result of Superstorm Sandy,” said Constable, whose Department is administering the distribution of CDBG Disaster Recovery funds for the state and who also serves as Chairman of the HMFA. “This award is another example of the Christie Administration’s continued commitment to providing decent and safe affordable housing opportunities for the most vulnerable families in our communities.”

The $7.2 million in funding will be used to help rehabilitate Thomas J. Stewart Apartments and Booker T. Washington Apartments, which provide a total of 367 residential units in Jersey City.

As a result of Superstorm Sandy, the boilers at Booker T. Washington Apartments were flooded, the maintenance shop and material storage areas were destroyed, centralized heat and hot water systems were compromised, and the electrical infrastructure was severely damaged. Superstorm Sandy left Thomas J. Stewart Apartments without power for a significant amount of time, impacting the building’s senior residents who could not get up and down the building’s floors since elevators weren’t operating and stairway steps were left without lights.

Theresians hold services

Members of the Sodality of the Children of Mary of St. Teresa will meet Friday, Jan. 3 at 3:15 p.m. in the chapel of St. Peter Hall, 2652 Kennedy Blvd., for the recitation of the “Little Office,” followed by Mass at 3:30 p.m.

The Teresians will gather again on Saturday, Jan. 4, 2014 at 8:45 a.m. at St. Peter Hall Chapel for Mass at 9 a.m. Then after Mass, the group will gather for their monthly meeting and breakfast in the MacMahon Building at St. Peter’s. For more information, call 201-689-1471.

Volunteers needed at New Jersey Blood Services

New Jersey Blood Services, which supplies blood products and services to 60 hospitals throughout the state, is in need of volunteers at blood drives.

“The blood service volunteer is an integral member of the collection team, whose task it is to assist donors with registration, escorting, and canteen duties, and to watch for post-donation reactions,” said R. Jan Zepka, manager of community relations.

Volunteers should have the ability to relate to the public, be able to perform different jobs as needed, and have the willingness to follow rules.

For additional information, contact Zepka at (732) 616-8741 or rzepka@nybloodcenter.org.

Jersey City Library holds special programs

Bob Leach, director of the Jersey City Historical Project presents the video, “Hague Captures Kenny Killer,” at the Five Corners Branch, 678 Newark Ave. in honor of Frank Hague’s birthday. The event will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 1 p.m.

Leach describes how on the evening of Good Friday in 1916, 21-year-old Hague, then-commissioner of Public Safety of Jersey City, single-handedly captured an armed and dangerous killer. The man who had been killed was Frank Kenny, whose father had financed Hague’s start in politics; and the killer was Italian immigrant Michael Rombolo. According to legend, Hague tracked Rombolo down to his hiding place in Newark and then personally drove him back to Jersey City to face justice. A year later, Hague became mayor.

On Jan. 9 at 6:30 p.m. in the Heights Branch, 14 Zabriskie St. adults will be able to meet Joe Montaperto, author of The Edge of Whiteness, which was a featured book presentation at the sixth annual Jersey City library book festival, Tales of Our Cities 1969. As Brooklyn smolders in the aftermath of the past summer's race riots, the family of young Montaperto flees their beloved Italian neighborhood to start anew in a painfully white New Jersey suburb. Ironically, the high school there is then later forcefully integrated and the sensitive Joey is confronted with another brutal racial conflict. When he is unexpectedly rescued from a hallway ambush by a murderous yet artistic loner, he subsequently is introduced to an exciting new world of hip black culture.

Sires celebrates funding for transit resiliency projects

Rep. Albio Sires said he welcomes the announcement that $3 billion in competitive grant funding through the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Hurricane Sandy Resilience Program will be made available for public transportation resiliency projects in regions affected by Hurricane Sandy, including New Jersey. Earlier this month, Congressman Sires urged FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff to provide the additional grant funding as expeditiously as possible so that New Jersey can continue addressing future transit vulnerabilities.

“Hurricane Sandy was the worst transit disaster in United States history,” said Congressman Sires. “American taxpayers should not be asked to simply rebuild our critical infrastructure to the level it was before the storm. We must rebuild smarter and stronger to ensure that we don’t find ourselves in the same position the next time a major storm hits.”

The Federal Transit Administration has already allocated $1.3 billion from the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2012 for locally prioritized resiliency projects. Public transportation providers will have until March 28, 2014 to submit applications for the Hurricane Sandy Resilience Program.

Menendez seeks consumer protection after Target credit card breach

U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez announced this that he has sent a letter to the head of the Federal Trade Commission requesting an update in its efforts into last week’s security breach at Target Corporation retail stores. In addition, he has asked the FTC to recommend any further legislative action that will ensure consumers are better protected.

“Our country’s consumers depend upon safe and secure transactions, and especially at this crucial time of year, our country’s retailers must commit to fulfilling that expectation,” Sen. Menendez wrote to FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez. “Unfortunately, these data breaches are becoming increasingly common.”

Target announced that a data breach had occurred between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15, .affecting roughly 40-million credit and debit card accounts, compromising customers’ names, card information and security codes to hackers. While Target has reassured its customers that the breach has been resolved, it has not publically disclosed how the perpetrators managed to slip past its data security.